1.10.11

sell your integrity for fun and profit

several people have contacted me regarding advertising on SA. i have refused them all. i don't care if it would make money, i don't care what i could use that money for. i'd rather work at KFC (which refused my last job application on the grounds of "not adequately qualified for this position").

as i said to the last advertiser, i don't want to associate myself with the kind of untrustworthy information that adverts represent. you could not trust the ads; you'd know they were only there because someone paid SA money. you'd know that i don't believe in the ad copy or use whatever product they're shilling. you'd know i'm not in any way qualified to tell you what you should and shouldn't buy, in this case, subscriptions to a job news site. it would be pointless at best.

at worst, the customers they want to attract would see the company's name and logo on the blog of a self-harming mentally ill drug-addicted fringe-science biohacker, and would form an impression of that company which is not quite the one the executives intended. i explained this, but i don't think anyone listened.

lastly, i fucking hate advertising. i hate the way it tries to manipulate people's use of their resources without their consent or knowledge. i hate the way advertising firms try to get into people's subconscious minds to make them buy, buy, buy. it is degrading and dehumanising. you can evaluate how to use your budget by yourselves.

so, no, there are not going to be and never will be any adverts on SA. not Google ads, not banners, not Lijit ads, not anything. fuck ads.

L

19 comments:

ianmathwiz7 said...

amen!

Certainly, I'd understand if you absolutely needed the money, but it is good to know that at least some people still have integrity.

Max said...

Good call on that one. I'd rather give you money for free than seeing you sell your principles to men in suits.

Anonymous said...

Would you even decline an offer that was worth ONE BILLION DOLLARS

Lepht said...

someone always says something like that. "would you have a baby for ONE MILLION EUROS?!"

nobody's offering me a million pounds, chump.

L

Max said...

I think the desired effect was...
ONE MILLION DOLLAR

(Here's hoping you've actually seen the movie)

Anonymous said...

Way to avoid the question Lepht. Anyway at the rate inflation is going you might be getting such offers in a few years. :D

spoon said...

Introducing adverts would be a commodification of your private life.
Which would be fucked up, even if you didn't have ethical problems with ads.
Good call!

Jackthetripper said...

I'd buy whatever you told me to buy, so in their defense they made a good call to try to get you L. Then again I think the people you appeal to are little daft in the head too.

Caveman said...

I find your decision commendable. However I wouldn't be bothered by ads on your site. I guess running the blog is not free so it would be understandable if you used ads to pay for the upkeep. As long as there is no censorship involved that is.

Jackthetripper said...

@Caveman

Blogger is a free site, the ads would be for pure profit.

malces said...

Come on Lepht! I say bring on the corporate tattoos and feudal economics. Start your brand and build an army XD

Unqualified to speak said...

I assume you're either buried under email or the bloody thing's gone missing, then?
Is it ok if I give you a shout on alternate means?

Lepht said...

Ian - i kinda do need the money. i really don't wanna do it this way, though. i can take Lidl's 10p noodles better than i can take clicking the MONETISE YOUR BLOG! button.

Way to avoid the question Lepht.
that's because the question is fucking stupid. for some things everyone has a price. you think you could refuse that much funding for just ads, no matter how much you hate them? i would, however, not HAVVA BAYBEE or KILLA DOOD even for impossibly huge amounts of money.

that said, if any of you want some high-quality human eggs, a hysterus (mint condition, nearly new), a nice omni-transplantable kidney or liver (that's right O- blood type) or some bone marrow, i'm your construct. MD says he'll also sell you some gamer jizz if you're wanting to have very attractive, high-metabolism, smart but incredibly lazy babies via artificial insemination. maybe you can train them to do things instead of sleep or something.

JacktheTripper - that's one reason why i don't want to advertise. i would be using my rep as a hacker to manipulate you on behalf of coroporate fucks. all because i'm pissing and moaning about eating instant noodles.

Caveman - Blogger is free. the problem is my life costs money. thing is, ad revenue wouldn't benefit me at all in the long run on account of what it would do to my trustworthiness. also, the ad people would then be responsible for part of my blog, thus imposing whatever censorship or propaganda they want on the banners/adspace. and then everyone would just make an SA AdBlockPlus rule.

Max - ONE MILLION, BILLION, TRILLION, KAJICKAJILLION DOLLARS.

malces - there is an "indie" pub in my city that offers discounts if you have a tattoo of its logo. i believe several dumbshits have taken it up on the offer. the stupid thing is, you pay more for the ink than you save on the fucking beer.

Unq - found it, have sent you a preliminary response. hope it gets through this time.

cc

L

Anonymous said...

Out of curiosity, would you have a problem with it being a product you use? I remember you mentioning using sugru in the past, and to be honest I looked into the stuff and ended up buying some for more mundane uses. I have no idea if they have any kind of affiliate program though

Lepht said...

i'd still have a problem with it, to be honest. it would still be a part of my blog that didn't belong to me and could change its strategy, level of manipulativeness etc. at any time. i have no problem recommending Sugru, but i'd be loath to actually shill it.

not that i'm now begging the populace for its loose change, no sir.

L

Unknown said...

If I had a Kajickajillion dollars, and suggested a 500 Euros a month deal for you to ( completely of your own design using nothing but some stock icon/imagery ) create and present, as a banner preferably, linking people to my book project and wiki? Considering the beggary and the starvation ~ how would that business model sound? Better perhaps than a 'monotize this' button? I personally have zilcho problems with advertising and far from consider them a degridation of my principles I consider commercials amongst my favorite forms of modern art. I promote transhumanism and you specifically in casual conversations regularly ~ Corpus Corporeum!

Captain Attention Deficit said...

Hello Lepht, long time lurker, first time commenter. Before I get too far just gotta let you know I love your shit. You're an inspiration to everyone who grew up wanting to glow in the dark and whatnot.

I'm not gonna try to claim admen often hold the moral high ground. As someone around the same age as you I grew up in the US being force-fed more or less the same shit you so rightfully detest. I can't even pretend that I, as a very junior admonkey intern, am not a complete sociopath with little or no understanding or right and wrong.

But I will say this. You are underestimating how much technology is changing the world of advertising. I won't claim we aren't still trying to sell people shit they don't need, but if the industry wants to survive we will have to stop soon or go the way of the dinosaurs.

The trends are all there, if you look close enough. We're migrating away from nukes and moving toward sniper rifles. Today's advertisements aren't about catching the attention of a million people, they're about catching the attention of the hundred people who actually might need your product. The internet as a whole has for the first time given us the ability to reach those people without bothering the rest of the world with information they don't need, want, or appreciate. At the same time it's made businesses worldwide incredibly vulnerable to bad reviews from their customers. Already in the gaming and tech industry companies can't afford to advertise shoddy products because the masses will react with thousands upon thousands of shitty reviews all over the internet, with predictable results.

Advertising is, more or less, centered around getting product information to potential customers. If all goes as I predict, we'll see a gradual shift over the next decade or so. Advertisers will have to stop serving corporations with deep pockets and start serving the potential customers by shifting through all the data to find the products they actually need. A day will come when you will rarely see an ad, and will be excited as hell when you do because it represents a product with measurable advantages over the things you have. I will probably be out of the advertisement business by then

I'm not trying to change your mind about putting ads on your blog, in fact I applaud your decision, but don't for a second think that advertising will forever be the cesspit it is today. Soon the monster will be leashed, because we are no more immune to the changes brought on by technology than anyone else.

As for why I posted so long after you wrote this, it took me a while to work up the courage. You're intimidating.

raulduke1011 said...

Perfectly said.

Romulus said...

I think you'd be in a better moral position taking money from advertisers (i.e. companies that have lots of money) than begging for money off of the readers of your blog, who may themselves be in financial difficulties.

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